Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03) announced that up to $195 million in funding has been made available from the Department of the Interior to support drought resiliency projects, water management planning and design improvements, and cooperative watershed management projects. Congresswoman Lee fought to secure these funds by championing and voting to pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as through her work as a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.
“Last Congress, I helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to ensure that your taxpayer dollars get to work for Nevada, and that includes tackling the drought,” said Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03). “Southern Nevada continues to face the worst drought in 12 centuries, and we need bold solutions to protect our precious water, natural resources, and the hardworking families who depend on them. Today’s announcement reflects a strong investment in those solutions and helps put our state and the West on a path to long-term sustainability.”
This funding comes primarily from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s WaterSMART program. As a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, Congresswoman Lee ensured this program was properly funded by helping to secure $124 million more than what was initially requested by the Biden Administration for the current fiscal year. In Southern Nevada, WaterSMART funding has helped support initiatives ranging from the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s landscape rebate program, which incentivizes residential property owners to replace turf with water-efficient landscaping, to the ongoing restoration of the Las Vegas Wash, which returns more than 200 million gallons of water a day to Lake Mead from the Las Vegas Valley.
Today’s funding announcement includes up to $55 million for drought resiliency funding to develop projects that can increase water management flexibility, and up to $35 million for planning and design grants to support water management improvements, including efforts to enhance water supplies and create comprehensive drought contingency plans.
You can read more about this announcement here.
